Piston ring



W. S. MASON PISTON RING Feb. 16, 1943.

Filed July 20, 1942.

a a all PISTON RING William S. Mason, Noriolk, Va.

Application July 20, 1942, Serial No. 451,600

12 Claims.

nvention relates to piston rings, and is a nation in part of my pendingapplication.

22,193, filed December 9, 1941. c ect of my invention is to provide animiiston ring of the type that has integral -or supplementing itsinherent radial ex- ;rzil'lil'j". other object is to provide a ring ofthe above ned type that can be used in the comparahot top grooves of apiston of a modern speed high compression engine as well as of lowcompression engines. in o er object is to provide a piston ring which ed. to maintain a. film of oil between its and the wall of the cylinder,so as to -inder and ring wear, and improve the tion of the ring. objectsare to provide a ring which is cheap to manufacture, easy to install, noperation, and which has a comparauseful life.

to the drawing: 1 is a top view of a piston ring conaccording to thepresent invention;

.l is an enlarged fragmentary perspecn the line 2-2 of Figure 1, lookingin 2 n of the arrow; and,

and a are fragmentary perspective difications. shown in Figures 1 and 2,like vrn in Figures 3 and 4, comprise an band of resilient metal doubledupon udinally forming the upper and lower .o ring and its edges formingthe outer y and its medial portion forming the in- W and. spacing saidsides apart axially provided with elongated annularly ex- ..zliallveirpansible spring fingers. The zers i 3, supplement the inherent radialy of the ring, and the flanges l2, pro- .ional bearing surface for thespring d greatly reduce bending strain at their good heat path to thewall of the Another advantage of the flanges is, cut sides of the ringfrom'being way from the sidewalls of the groove ge it, which is wideenough to es of the ring from being thrown l side walls of the groove,provide for the ring, and bearing surspi'ing fingers.

ring id, shown in Figure 3, is pro-.

connection to the ring, also provide the In the packing shown in Figure4, an additional ring I5, is interposed between the sides of ring l6, toprovide an additional heat path and wearing surface, and as ring l6,provides the necessary.

radial pressure, it can'be made of aluminum or alloy, which isrelatively light in weight, and provides a good wearing surface, and hasgood heat conductivity, and which would be relatively cheap tomanufacture, and replace when worn out.

One advantage of the rings is the crevice between the flanges forms anoil receiving channel which holds a film of oil which lubricates thewall of the cylinder and the periphery of the ring, reducing wear onboth and improving the sealing action of the ring. Another advantage isthe axial height of the piston rings can be adjusted slightly so theycan be used in a worn groove by merely interposing a shim or anadditional ring between the flange or flanges.

I claim:

1. For use in a cylinder in combination with a reciprocating pistonprovided with a piston ring groove, a piston ring comprising anelongated band of resilient metal doubled upon itself longitudinallyforming the upper and lower sides of the ring and its edges forming theouter periphery and its medial portion forming the inner periphery andspacing said sides apart axially, said inner periphery being providedwith radially expansible spring fingersadapted to'seat on the bottom ofthe groove in said piston and urge the periphery of the ring against thewall of said cylinder, and one at least of said sides being providedwith a flange formed and arranged to maintain the axially spacedarrangement of the sides outwardly of the inner periphery of the ringand provide bearing surface for said spring fingers.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said flange comprises a boss.

3. The structure of claim 1, in which an annular member is interposedbetween sald sides to adjust the axial height of the piston ring to thatof the groove in said piston.

, '4, For use in a cylinder in combination with "a reciprocating pistonprovided with a packing and being formed and arranged to provide bearingsurface for said spring fingers and to maintain the axially spacedarrangement of the sides outwardly of the inner periphery of the ring.

5. The structure of claim 4, in which both of said sides are thickerthan said inner periphery of the ring and are arranged complementary.

6. For use in a cylinder in combination with a reciprocating pistonprovided with a piston ring groove, av piston ring comprising anelongated band of resilient metal doubled upon itself longitudinallyforming the upper and lower sides of the ring and its edges forming theouter periphery and its medial portion forming the inner periphery andspacing said sides apart axially, said inner periphery being providedwith radially expansible spring fingers and each of said sides beingprovided With a flange adapted to maintain the axially spacedarrangement of the sides outwardly of the inner periphery of the ringand provide bearing surface for said spring fingers.

7. The structure of claim 6, in which said flanges comprise a boss.

. 8. The structure of 'claim 6, in which said flanges are thicker thanthe inner periphery of said ring.

9. The structure of claim 6, in which an annular member is interposedbetween said flanges to adjust the axial height of the piston ring tothat of the piston ring groove, and provide an additional heat pathbetween the piston ring and ring groove, a piston ring comprising anelongated band of resilient metal doubled upon itself longitudinallyforming the upper and lower sides of the ring and its edges forming theouter periphery and its medial portion forming the inner periphery andspacing said sides apart axially, said inner periphery being providedwith radially expansible spring fingers adapted to seat on the bottom ofthe groove in said piston and urge the outer periphery of the ringagainst the wall of said cylinder, one at least of said sides beingprovided with a flange adaptedto provide bearing surface for said springfingers.

11. The structure of claim 10, in which said flange comprises a boss.

12. For use in a cylinder in combination with a reciprocating pistonprovided with a piston ring groove, a piston ring comprising anelongated band of resilient metal doubled upon itself ion gitudinallyforming the upper and lower sides of the ring and its edges forming theouter periphery and its medial portion forming the inner periphery andspacing said sides apart axially, said inner periphery being providedwith radially expansible spring fingers adapted to seat on the bottom ofthe groove in the piston and urge the outer periphery of the ringagainst the Wall of said cylinder, one at least of said sides beingprovided with means formed and arranged to provide bearing surface forsaid spring fingers and to maintain the axially spaced arrangement ofthe sides outwardly of the inner periphery of said ring.

WILLIAM S. MASON.

